What is siopao? I believe it's the Filipino spelling for xiaobao 小包, which means "small bun" in Chinese. Sure you've heard of siopao. Sure you've eaten one (or dozens in your lifetime). White bun with meat and egg inside. The meat can be asado (pork barbecue) or bola–bola (meatball). Boring but always good for a snack.
If you take the literal meaning, then this here, is not a xiaobao. It's a dabao 大包 or big bun! (Actually the siopao around the Philippines are actually dabao 大包, only a few have the small buns.) And what's inside makes it, in my opinion, a hen dabao很大包(very big bun). But enough about the Mandarin lessons.
Why did I say it's a big bun? Because it is about 10 cm in diameter (well, wiki says a dabao 大包 measures 10 cm in diameter). And why "very big bun"? Because this siopao—Taitong's Special Siopao (Php62)—has not one or two but five fillings: asado, bola–bola, Chinese sausage, plain siomai, and salted egg. Boring it certainly isn't. Taitong's Special Siopao is a fiesta in a white bun. Hen hao chi很好吃—very delicious!
Taitong Steamers Foods
AS Fortuna St. (beside AA BBQ), Mandaue City, Cebu
(032) 316 2438 / (032) 316 0327
Lunch 10AM–2PM daily
Dinner 5PM–10PM daily
Taitong offers not only siopao—the "Foods" in Taitong Steamers Foods clearly says so. Taitong also has a bunch of dishes up the chef's sleeve. Check out the menu below.
Click photos to enlarge